Manila: Residential and commercial consumers in Iloilo City enjoyed a significant reduction in their electricity rate this October. Utility provider More Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) on Friday said the decrease of PHP1.35 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) brought the residential rate to dive to PHP11.087/kWh from PHP12.44 in September. The commercial rate, meanwhile, went down to PHP10.405/kWh from PHP11.760.

According to Philippines News Agency, this is the first significant reduction since a hike in rate was experienced starting in July, mostly attributed to the high generation charge. A hike of PHP0.09/kWh was imposed in August, PHP0.27 in August, and PHP1.56 in September. "Last month, power rates increased because of a series of yellow alert statuses issued by NGCP (National Grid Corporation of the Philippines) in August, caused by thin supply compared to demand. However, after prices stabilized in the spot market, the generation charges decreased," MORE Power said in a statement.

The utility firm said it carefully plans its electricity purchases and supports bilateral contracts to lower its rates. Meanwhile, MORE Power gathered its large commercial and industrial accounts for its Transformer Awareness Program this month. "The activity aims to provide consumers with the right knowledge on the proper maintenance of their high voltage transformer," it said in a separate statement.

The program was in line with its thrust to mitigate unscheduled power interruptions, which according to their monitoring, are primarily caused by transformers that are not maintained. "The company emphasizes that these transformers, even if they are owned by those large accounts, play a role in the entire distribution system because if one fails, other consumers nearby are greatly affected as well," it said.